A VETERAN OWNED SMALL BUSINESS | Call or text now for a FREE consultation: +1 (770) 765-3692 | 
Management Observation Program Warning Flag 1 – End of Period and Clustered Observations
Direct management observation and immediate feedback is the best tool for reinforcing performance expectations among employees. And while such reinforcement is optimally effective at maintaining high performance levels when given consistently over time, some management observation programs become a checklist task for executives, managers, and supervisors; resulting in the majority of observations being performed at the end of the observation cycle or in clusters during a narrow time frame within the cycle. Workers learn that standard adhering performance reinforcement only occurs during a very brief period within the cycle and that substandard work will typically not be observed and behaviors corrected the rest of the time. Work behavior quickly aligns with the pattern of expectation reinforcement; sub-optimizing overall performance and adversely impacting the observation program’s effectiveness.
Hi there! Gain access to this article with a FREE StrategyDriven Insights Library – Sample Subscription. It’s FREE Forever with No Credit Card Required.
| Sign-up now for your FREE StrategyDriven Insights Library – Sample Subscription
In addition to receiving access to Management Observation Program Warning Flag 1 – End of Period and Clustered Observations, you’ll help advance your career and business programs through anytime, anywhere access to:
Best of all, it’s FREE Forever with No Credit Card Required. |
The outcomes of substantive change can seldom be fully anticipated; and changes to organizational performance measures are no exception. Performance measures drive executive and managerial decisions and personnel actions and, over time, shape these behaviors to achieve optimal results relative to the established measures. Thus, changes to performance measures serve to change behaviors in predictable and sometimes unpredictable ways.
Mission critical projects often impact not only large portions of the employee population but the ability of the company to be competitive and to carry out important functions over the long-term. In fact, some projects are so important that board members and company officers literally bet the company’s very existence on the successful outcome of the initiative. With stakes this high, the question becomes: Can company leaders afford to assign anyone other than their most talented personnel to conceive, develop, and implement these initiatives?
Performance proficiency for any given task is only maintained through repetitive performance over time. Without ongoing practice, performance declines until a point is reached when the individual is incapable of performing the task at a level consistent with existing standards and expectations. Additionally, those not routinely performing a task are commonly unaware of changes in expectations and methodologies associated with the activity’s performance. Subsequently, these individuals have a difficult time meeting established performance expectations when assigned the activity. Thus, many organizations establish a personnel qualification system identifying those individuals capable of and authorized to perform a given task. Task qualification is maintained over time through demonstrated performance proficiency and/or testing.
An organization’s limited personnel resources necessitates that its business performance assessments be performed in the most efficient manner possible. While at times there may be the need for an in-depth end-to-end process review, at other times it will be appropriate to examine performance of a specific task or activities by numerous performers from across the organization. On these occasions, the horizontal cut assessment approach is most appropriate.
Business Programs